Without any probing, the two sides immediately engaged in a fierce battle.

In an instant, the sounds of battle shook the heavens, and countless arrows flew between the two sides.

The relief army, relying on the bows and arrows lent to them by the White Horse Cavalry, inflicted considerable losses on the guards and slaves on the city walls.

However, under the suppression of the border guards, the guards and slaves, though terrified, did not dare to retreat even a step, and could only grit their teeth and stand guard in their respective positions.

The defenders' fierce resistance, along with the constant falling logs and stones, caused considerable losses to the relief forces attacking the city.

Within half an hour, the first batch of 20,000 attacking soldiers had lost more than 3,000 men.

Despite the heavy losses, the soldiers of the relief army, who had been oppressed for a long time and were filled with hatred, showed no fear or trepidation. With their bloodshot eyes wide open, they climbed the city walls with all their might, using their own lives to wear down the defenders.

Gongsun Zan, watching the relief soldiers fall one after another, remained calm.

The fighting lasted from noon until dusk, both on and off the city walls.

Both sides suffered heavy casualties, and the walls were covered with the corpses of soldiers from both sides, turning the gray walls blood red.

"Let them withdraw!"

Seeing that it was getting late, Gongsun Zan finally gave the order to retreat.

"We held on! We held on!"

As the enemy troops retreated like a receding tide, the defenders on the city walls couldn't help but cheer excitedly.

Hearing the cheers of the defending troops, the relief soldiers also felt a pang of sadness.

Since they started their rebellion, they had always had smooth sailing and were invincible. Now, they suddenly encountered a setback, which was hard for them to accept.

Inside the central command tent, looking at the dejected officers, Gongsun Zan frowned: "It's just a temporary setback, why the fuss?"

A young general hesitated and said, "General, in today's battle, our army lost more than 10,000 men, and we still haven't captured the city. The brothers below are finding it hard to accept!"

"Hmph, can't accept it?"

Gongsun Zan snorted coldly, glanced at the crowd indifferently, and said in a deep voice: "Although I am here to help you on the orders of the Emperor, whether you can turn the tide depends entirely on whether you dare to fight for it."

Now that you've encountered such a minor setback, your inability to accept it demonstrates your lack of resolve. How can you possibly achieve anything under such circumstances?

Upon hearing Gongsun Zan's rebuke, the officers couldn't help but show their shame.

A general said cautiously, "General, it's not that we lack resolve, but the enemy's defenses are simply too difficult to overcome. Our brothers die as soon as they go in, and many of them are..."

"What is it? Are you scared? Cowardly? Or do you want to back down?" Gongsun Zan asked coldly, his sharp eyes fixed on the other party.

Faced with Gongsun Zan's series of questions, the officer lowered his head and dared not speak again.

Gongsun Zan looked at the others and said in a deep voice, "So, everyone wants to back down?"

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

Gongsun Zan said calmly, "In that case, let's retreat."

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and a relaxed expression appeared on their faces.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Gongsun Zan continued, "Retreat is possible, but there is one thing I must make clear to you: our Han Dynasty has always helped those who deserve it. People like you who retreat when faced with difficulties are no longer worthy of our Han Dynasty's help."

I no longer wish to waste my energy on a bunch of spineless cowards. After the retreat, the relief army can be disbanded, and you can all return to your previous lives of oppression and humiliation!

Gongsun Zan snorted coldly, then stood up and walked out of the tent.

Seeing this, the officers were also stunned. They hadn't expected that Gongsun Zan would actually abandon them.

"General, we were just confused for a moment, and we have no intention of retreating..."

"Yes, General, the brothers have fought their way here with great difficulty, we must not retreat..."

"General, rest assured, even if we are all wiped out, we will never retreat!"

Seeing that Gongsun Zan had reached the entrance of the main tent, the officers turned around and hurriedly got up to chase after him.

These people had finally escaped the oppression of those noble lords and were living a carefree life. No matter what, they were unwilling to return to that dark and hopeless life of the past.

Gongsun Zan stopped and turned to look at the crowd: "Since that's the case, I'll give you another chance. If anyone mentions retreating again, I will not let them off!"

"yes!!"

Everyone responded in unison, their faces regaining their previous resolve.

Afterwards, the officers dispersed and began to comfort and instruct their respective soldiers.

Soon, the soldiers, who had been feeling down, regained their fighting spirit.

Meanwhile, the noble lords in the city gathered together to hold a victory banquet for Andrzej.

In today's battle, Andreev successfully repelled the enemy with fewer than three thousand lives, giving them hope of saving their own lives.

Although those who died were their own guards and slaves, they didn't care at all; they were only happy that they could survive.

Early the next morning, Gongsun Zan led his army in another fierce attack on the city.

After Gongsun Zan's warning yesterday, the relief army soldiers put everything else aside, ignoring the arrows shot by the defenders and the logs and stones they threw down, only thinking about storming the city walls.

From a distance, the attacking soldiers looked like a swarm of ants that had found food, all scrambling to climb up the city walls.

Despite the high morale of the relief army soldiers, their flesh and blood, lacking sophisticated weapons and armor, were ultimately no match for the defenders' arrows and rolling logs and stones.

Throughout the day, the relief army lost nearly 15,000 men, but still failed to capture the city.

Although they failed once again, this time the officers and soldiers said nothing, focusing only on preparing for tomorrow's battle.

It seems that what Gongsun Zan said to them earlier did indeed provoke them.

In the eyes of the rescue team, it was better to fight to the death than to retreat back to the dark and hopeless life of the past. Even if they were to lose in the end, it would be much better than being tortured to death by those noble lords.

In the following days, Gongsun Zan led the relief army and launched three attacks.

Gongsun Zan only stopped after the rescue army was more than half wounded and all the guards and slaves on the city wall had died.

"Tell the brothers that I have seen their courage and fighting spirit."

However, this city is beyond human control. Let's retreat first, hold onto the places we've captured, and then wait for the Han army to arrive!

After giving instructions to his subordinates, Gongsun Zan immediately ordered a retreat.